Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Do you love spring rolls? I do. I've never made them and woke up the other day thinking I should.

Note: do other people wake up thinking about what they want to make that day? I'm totally normal, right?

And look - they turned out! Sort of like an egg roll but not fried; spring rolls are filled with fresh veggies and rice noodles, you can dip them (I come from a family of dippers!), and they're easy to make... what a nice, healthy, fresh, pretty lunch we had today ;)

For rolls:

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
• 8 (8 1/2") dried rice paper sheets (also called spring-roll wrappers, but the dried kind, not frozen)
• 8 jumbo (21-25 count) cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Thai basil (regular basil works too)
• 2 large romaine leaves, chopped (about 1 cup)

For 2 dipping sauces:

#1 - 

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced

#2 - 

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Assemble rolls:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook noodles, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, then rinse noodles and drain again. Cut noodles into shorter pieces with scissors.

2. Fill a large baking dish with hot water. Dip 1 rice paper sheet briefly into water to soften slightly, about 1 second, then lay on a work surface. Note: the sheet will continue to soften, so don't worry if it seems too rigid at first. 

3. Arrange 2 shrimp halves over half of sheet closest to you, then sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons noodles, 1 rounded teaspoon each of mint and cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon basil, and 2 tablespoons lettuce, leaving 2 inches uncovered on each side. Starting with bottom edge, begin to roll up sheet tightly around filling. After 1 roll, fold in ends of rice paper like a burrito, then finish rolling. Make 7 more rolls in the same manner.

Make dipping sauces: 

Stir together water, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, and garlic in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir together hoisin and peanuts in another small bowl. Serve on the side with rolls. 

Rolls can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.

per roll: 82 cal, 0.7g fat, 3.3g pro, 15.8 carb, 0.6g fiber

allrecipes 6/16


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